Electric fixture



W. A. HARVEY.

ELECTHlC FIXTURE.

.APPLICATION HLED Au.13.19|9.

gfww. mmm m. 31,1922

, 3 SHEETSAHEET 1.

W. A. HARVEY.

ELECTRIC FIXTURE.

APPLICATION HLED Aus.13.1919.

Patented @et El,

.tease err-ic'.;

WILLIAM ARBUCKL HARVEY, OFSCRQTTGT, PENNSYLVNA.

nano-raro ri-frauen.

'Application filed .sugust-13y '1919. Serial No. 317,255.

T'o all whom t may concern.:

Be it known that l, WILLIAM Hain/nr, avcitizen of the United' States,` residing at Scranton, inthe county of Lacl/:avvanna and State of Pennsylvania, have invente-d cer,

tain new and useful Improvements in Elec.- tric Fixtures, ofwhich the following is a specification.

' As heretofore practised, various means have been provided in an electricallyequipped building for accommodatmg or'attaclnng electrical appliances, such as vacuum cleaners, electric irons,extension'cords for portable electric. lamps; and other like devices. Most common' among the means for attaching such appliances to a suitable source of electricity, are the flush type base board or Wall receptacles, which. are used primarily because they may be more or less obscurely placed. Atthe vsame time, they` are expensive to inst-all, particularly Where the house'is wired alter it has been completely constructed. ln many instances, surface type receptacles are set 4on the wall, in which event they often take the `form oi' an attachment for wall fixtures. rl`he idea is to provide a wallorlioor receptacle, making it unnecessary to remove the light bulbl from a fixture ivhen it beoomes'desirable `to attach -a vacuum cleaner o r other form of appliance.

As stated, the .flush type door receptacles are expensive' to install; this is also true of' the flush typen/all or base receptacles. 'And another consideration makes it desirable to improve the form oi receptacle which is used in connect-ion andas an attachment for a socalled permanent Wall or ceiling bracket. All receptacles ofthe surface type are con structed with a comparatively large mountingxbase, vwhich covers an unnecessarily large area ot the Wall or ceiling surface, to

a decided disadvantage when the Wall pr ceilingis to be 'repapcred Not only this,

but these conventional Iforms of receptacles are soconstructed as to malre'it practically impossible .or undesirable for the one papen ing the wallvto 'remove the receptacle in order that -he may lit the paper evenly around 4its supporting base and produce a neat job."

i.'lhe .present invention ,has for its primary object to provide a plug attachment for socalled permanent .electric wall and ceilingfixtures, whiclris'iiot only capable of exceed# ingly cheap production, but'is also Icapable or" enabling the Wall to be repa'pered and the paper to be distributed around thev supportingbase of the receptacle-in a 'neat man-` ner, to which end one feature of the inven- .tio'rr'con'sistsjn providing a relatively narrow mounting' vbase for the plug and to so the present construction more' acceptable than those' non in use. For instance, by a slight modification the invention. may be constructed as an individual receptacle or socket fixture1 in which event itmay be installed independently of a permanent Wall or ceiling iixture.

A still further' object consists in constructing-the device contemplated by the in- Econstruct-the associated parts of the mounting' base that they may be readily removed Without subjecting the mechanic to the dan fer of charged wires. vThus, it will be 'an vention of standard paits, whereby it will of course have a universal use.: ln this connection, the' parts and "arrangement `of the parts are such as to meet the apprdvfl of the underwriters as to proper installation and insulation.4

Further objects will appear upon refer ence to the accompanying and the' following detailed description of the same,

the novelty involved being .particular ly pointedA out in the subjoined claims.

ln said drawingsl l Fig. l is a perspectiveview of a conventional form of wall bracket 'or fixture (shown ini .dotted lines), with the preferred form. of the" invention attached thereto; f Fig. 2A is avertical section of the preferred form of the invention;

lum

Fig.. 3 is a sectional view on the line 3 3 of Fig 2; arrows; c lEig. llis a vertical sectional view of the mounting baseand its associated parts;

Fig. 5 is a View similar. to lligf 2, but

slightly modilied, particularly in the manner of supporting the canopy. (In this form,

Well as inthe followingforms, the inY dating looking in' the direction of fthe block which is supported on the mounting base is of porcellaneous material, whereas the insulating block in the forms just .described is of fibrous material).

Fig, 6 is a sectional of Flg. 5; l

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Figa, but showing the insulating block of the porcellaneous material;

Fig. 8 is a plan view of the interior construction of the fixture;

Fig. 9 is a vertical section of a modified form, involving practically the same features of construction as Fig. 2, with the exception that the insulating block is ofthe porcellaneous material and the fixture is constructed for individual attachment to the View on the line 6--6 Fig. 10 is a 'sectional view on the line 10--10 of Fig. 9; v

Fig. vl1 is a sectional view on the line 11-11 of'Fig. 10; and

Fig. 12 is a View similar to Fig. 1l, with the exception that the conductor wires are not shown and the anchoring means tor the socket terminal contact plate, consisting of the screws, are riveted to the side of the terminal contact plate, instead of being en* garred by nuts.

lieferring now tothe drawings in detail, particularly to the drawings shown in Figs. 1 to 8, inclusive, A represents the common f form of wall bracket or fixture, having the usual canopy B adapted to cover the terminal contacts and conductor wires, the usual mounting base, etc. It 1s common for lhouses equipped with electricity to have these forms of wall Fixtures'. Now, when it is desirable to further equip a building with socket or plug fixtures for accommodating electrical appliances, they are sometimes attached to these wall brackets. But, as previously stated, their design and construction are inadequate. By the present invention it is proposed to construct the attachmentfor thesewall brackets with an exceedingly narrow, elongated mounting base 1, preferabl; constructed of fibrous insulating material, adapted to be mounted in juxtaposition to the bracket A by a plurality or' screws 2 refceived in the countersunk openings in the mounting base. While three screws are shown-as the medium for securing the base to the wall, ordinarily two, or even Lone, would be suiicient, but three are provided should anyone o f them fail to be vplaced in a position to engage a solid base in the plaster construction. In attaching the inven tion to the wall fixture, the canopy B of the fixture is recessedto receive the protruding end 1ZL of the mounting base. The conductor wires 3 'are adapted to be connected in any suitable manner to the bracket conductor wires; they preferably extend longitudinally oi the mounting base l and enter the protruding end 1a thereof through open ings made to receive them, which openings terminate in the' top surface of the base, with the wires extending through the termination of the openings to the terminal plates or brackets of the socket attachment, the details of which will be hereinafter' described. Supported by the mounting base l is'an insulating block 4, constructed of any suitable insulating material, preferably fibrous or porcellaneous. This insulating block is of the same width as the mounting base, the lower end of which lies flushy with the lower end of the mounting base, but the opposite end terminates at a point considerably below the protruding end 1a of the base. This insulating block is constructed with a stepped portion 4', providing a pair of shoulders on the opposite ends of the block, as at 1lb, whereby suitable screws 4c may be employed insecuring the insulating block to the base 1. Attached to opposite sides of the. insulating block 4`arethe terminal plates 5 for attaching the ends of the conductor wires 3. One or these plates extends substantially the height of the insulating block 4 and is secured thereto by ay pair of screws 5a having their ends embedded inthe fiber of the block. The end of this plate terminates in a resilient contact 5b, and the plate on the opposite side provides an attaching clipfor the shell socket 6. This clip preferably comprises a horseshoeshaped end 5C, made to substantially conform to the shape of the bottom of the socket shell 6,. suitable screws 6a beingemployed to mountthe socket shell and the clip on the insulating block. In some instances it may be desirable to construct the shell with openings in its opposite sides,`in which event the clip 5c will overlie the bottom of the socket shell. However, should the clip underlie the bottom of the socket shell, only one opening will be necessary in the side of the shell 6, this one to receive the end 5b of the clip on the opposite side of the insulating block. Suitable screws 5dl may be employed for attaching the en'yds of the conductor wires to the contact plates. Now, when the plug is screwed into the shell 6, the part 5b of one clip and the bottom of the shell attached toY the end 5 of the other clip will form the necessary terminal contacts.

As is customary in fixtures of this kind, a canopy 7 .is used to cover the terminal connections. However, in the present instance, this canopy is recessed, as at 7, to permit the end 1a of the mounting base l to protrude through the canopy. It is preferred that the recess 7 be cut in the vertical wall of the canopy and in the periphery thereof The opening is of such a size as to snugly fit the mounting base. In some instances it would be desirs le to confine the canopy in place by means of an annular material, such as 7b.

i ,essere sleeve 8, having threads corresponding with the threads or' the socket shellr 6, with which.

and reduced ends, the inner of which adapted to have a wedging effect between the.

narrow throat of the canopy and the socket shell 6, whereby the'canopy may be held in place and insulated from the shell and other parts of the iXture construction. lf need be, the canopy may he lined with insulating Furthermore, a suitable insulating collar 8 may be used to overlie the insulatingv block and the terminal connections. A still `further insulating precaution may be resorted to, such as the ringshaped piece 8b, which is adapted to be inserted between the edge ot the canopy and the wall. it is preferably constructed with a depression or groove to receive the edge of the canopy7 and portion o'lf'its riin is cut away so as not to interfere with the protrading end l of the mounting base. A suitable tab, such as 8c, is provided as an abutment for the inside of the vertical wall of the canopy, which will prevent displace ment of the ring should the edge of the canopy become unseated from the groove.

Referring now to the features of construction of the forms illustrated in Figs. 5 to 8, inclusive, the saine general idea is carried out, with the exception that the insulating block 4 is of a porcellaneous noa terial, and for this reason it will be necessary to so arrange the screws 6"" so that their threaded ends may be engaged by suitable nuts, with their head portions embedded in recesses in the block. This inethod is resorted to because it is impractical to thread which extend outwardly with downwardly turned ends, having` openings therein, registering with suitable openings inv the si'de of the canopy, also with openings in the in sulating lining 7b, suitable screws 9n being used to attach the canopy to the bracket.

W'hen this attachinn' means for the. cano "2 is employed., the insulating lining 7b should extend to the edge of the narrow throat porT tion of the canopy and separate the canopy from the shell 6. lt is to be also noted that the screws 5a forsecuring the contact plate 5 to the insulating block in this forni are provided with nuts. lt is also preferred to confine the nuts in square recesses in the insulating material, ofsubstantially the same dimensions as the nuts, to prevent the nuts from turning. o

ln the form illustrated in the Figs. 9 to 12, inclusive, either the porcellaneous or brous material may be usedfor the insulating block, and either of the two forms of screw attaching means may be employed, ae cording to the material used, and the canopy' may be secured either by the sleeve 8 or theV brackets 9. But as the fixture inlthis forni is intended to be used independently of any associated bracket fixture, the mounting base 1 is slightly modified to meet this requirement, to which end, instead of constructing it with a protruding end 1-, its lengthis reduced and the insulating block i is support ed thereon in a manner to leave extensions l on opposite sides of the insulating block. ln. these instances suitable screws 2 are countersunk for securing the mounting to. the wall or ceiling. The insulating ring,l 8" need not be recessed to accommodate .the protruding end l"L of the mounting base, but 1t may take the forni of an uninterrupted an Inular ring grooved to receive the edge of the canopy, as in the other forms. Now, in this form the conducting wires will lead di rect from the wall or ceiling, and'instead of coming through the mounting base they may be brought in on opposite sides of the mounting base and the insulating block and fastened to the contact plates 5 (see Figli).

lt will be readily seen that not 'only is the device extremely simple in construction and 1W@ capableof being produced.J with a slight modification, of standard equipment, but the feature of providing the mounting base of such a narrow width will enable a sui cient area of the wall to be covered around 195 the fixture which will prevent any danger oi' ragged edges or like dei-'accusent of the wall to be seen after the canopy is secured in place.

l. An electrioiixture having a relatively narrow mounting base ot insulating mate rial, an insulating-block sup orted on said base, means on said block` or securing't socket connection, means for receivingtlle ends of the conductor and completing a cii'- cuit to said socket connection, a canopy cover for said fixture, said narrow mountingbase and conductor protruding through the-` side of the canopy cover and adapted to co- 12o operate with another electric fixture, with' the said conductor in circuit with said other fixture, and an insulating piece comprising an annular ring underlying the canopy of the firstnamed ixture, having a recessed or 1.25 cut-away portion through which the protruding end of the narrow mounting basepasses and a tab or detent adapted to bear against the inside of the opposite side of the canopy cover.

2. An electric fixture having a relatively o said socket and insulating block, a can narrow mounting base of insulating mateopy cover for the fixture, a, pair of brackets rial, an insulating block supported on said carried by said, insulating block adapted to 10 base, .means on said block for securing a engage the canopy cover and fasten it to the 5 socket connection, means for receiving the fixture, and an insulation between the canend ef a. conductor aud completing zt circuit opy and the Socket connection. to said suchet comiectuu, an insulating covei' ILLLAM ARBUCKLE HARVEY. 

